SOC2069
Researching
Social Life 1

Analysing qualitative data

Dr. Chris Moreh

Outline

  1. What is qualitative data analysis?
  2. Themes and coding
  3. Arguing from qualitative data

Qualitative data analysis

We have two tasks after we have gathered our data, namely to reduce our data to something we can manage, and to analyze our data in meaningful ways (Luker 2008:198–99)

Analysis involves a constant moving back and forward between the entire data set, the coded extracts of data that you are analysing, and the analysis of the data that you are producing (Braun and Clarke 2013)

As we contemplate that first interview, or set of field notes, or focus group experience, or day in the archives, we need to remind ourselves that our most important job today (and all subsequent days) is pattern recognition (Luker 2008:199)

Thematic analysis

  1. Familiarize yourself with your data
  2. Assign preliminary codes to your data in order to describe the content
  3. Search for patterns or themes in your codes across the different interviews
  4. Review themes
  5. Define and name themes
  6. Interpretation

Source: Neuman (2014:488)

Thematic coding

Source: https://www.interaction-design.org

  • Categorising and labelling – nothing more complicated than that!
  • Deductive, inductive, or (more commonly) a mixture
  • You can code as you go along, or start at the end of data collection
  • Keep your coding scheme/frame under review
  • Start descriptive but aim to be analytical
  • Record your thoughts and ideas during the process
  • Listen to your gut!

Coding in practice

Source: https://www.interaction-design.org

Coding in practice

Source: https://carstenknoch.com

Coding in practice

Source: Matthews and Ross (2014:335)

Coding in practice

Developing themes

Source: (Byrne 2022)

  • Initial coding

  • Generating themes – coded data is reviewed and analysed as to how different codes may be combined according to shared meanings so that they may form themes or sub-themes

  • Reviewing themes – some candidate themes may not function well as meaningful interpretations of the data, or may not provide information that addresses the research question(s).

  • Select extracts for writing up the analysis – illustrative or analytical

Writing it up

  • Coding is only one part of the analysis – you must interpret your data
  • Interconnections, similarities, and differences
  • Selecting quotes – why and how the selected quotes illustrate a noteworthy pattern
  • Craft a persuasive conclusion – “What do I know now that I didn’t know before the research began, and what is surprising and important about these findings?” (Gerson and Damaske 2020:186)
  • A strong conclusion also addresses the limitations of your research and clarifies when and how your arguments do and do not apply

Arguing from qualitative data

Source: https://phipps.space

References and further readings

Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2013. Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Byrne, David. 2022. “A Worked Example of Braun and Clarke’s Approach to Reflexive Thematic Analysis.” Quality & Quantity 56(3):1391–1412. doi: 10.1007/s11135-021-01182-y.
Gerson, Kathleen, and Sarah Damaske. 2020. The Science and Art of Interviewing. New York: Oxford University Press.
Luker, Kristin. 2008. Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences: Research in an Age of Info-glut. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Matthews, Bob, and Liz Ross. 2014. Research Methods. 1st ed. Harlow, United Kingdom: Longman.
Neuman, W. Lawrence. 2014. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 7. ed., Pearson new internat. ed. Harlow: Pearson.